KUALA LUMPUR: As world No. 9 Chen Tang Jie-Toh Ee Wei prepare for next week's Kumamoto Masters Super 500, the latter remains cautious despite other top-ranked mixed pairs retiring or splitting up — developments that could clear a path for their rise in the rankings.
She is especially wary of newly-formed partnerships, like their first-round opponents — Dechapol Puavaranukroh-Supissara Paewsampran of Thailand.
Thailand are among several nations reshuffling their pairings post-Olympics, with former world champions Dechapol and Sapsiree Taerattanachai switching partners.
Sapsiree now plays alongside Supak Jomkoh, who previously partnered Supissara.
Tang Jie-Ee Wei could potentially meet Sapsiree-Supak in the quarter-finals, as they are in the same quarter of the draw.
Ee Wei said she and Tang Jie need to be cautions against Dechapol-Supissara, who already impressed by reaching the Arctic Open semi-finals in Finland last month.
"New pairing or not, they're still world-class players. Tang Jie and I will have to bring our best game," said Ee Wei. "It's going to be tricky, similar to when Tang Jie and I first paired up. We'll need to study their game carefully with our coach."
As for their back-to-back tournament schedule, including the China Masters Super 750, Ee Wei said she is just excited to return to competition.
The pair missed last month's European tournaments after Ee Wei suffered a freak gym accident, which required 16 stitches in her left arm.
Their last event was the China Open Super 1000, where they reached the last 16.
Before that, they were in strong form, winning the Korea Open Super 500 and reaching the Hong Kong Open Super 500 semi-finals.
"We'll see what results we can deliver. It's been unusually long since we've been away from the World Tour. Our last lengthy break was before the Paris Olympics," said Ee Wei.
"While we're uncertain what to expect, we'll give our best on court and try to regain our competitive edge."
The pair won't be entirely rusty, having warmed up at the invitational team tournament BDMNTN-XL in Jakarta last week.
Ee Wei's Team Blitzers, which included Thailand's Kunlavut Vitidsarn, South Korea's Seo Seung Jae, and Malaysia's Ong Yew Sin, claimed the championship and a substantial US$479,000 (RM2 million) prize.
"Last week was a great experience, partnering with several world-class players in both doubles and 3v3 matches," said Ee Wei.
"It was enjoyable and provided good preparation for the World Tour."